Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
5/2/2014
Legislation introduced this week by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and 20 other Senate Republicans designed to respond to Russia’s actions in Ukraine would terminate U.S. cooperation with parts of the New START Treaty and prohibit arms control negotiations with Moscow. In a statement, Corker said the “Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014” would go beyond sanctions already levied to “inflict more direct consequences on Russia prior to Vladimir Putin taking additional steps that will be very difficult to undo.” The wide-ranging bill strengthens NATO, supports non-NATO allies like Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, and imposes more sanctions.
In particular, the bill would prohibit the U.S. from further talks with Russia on follow-on reductions to the New START Treaty until Moscow is in full compliance with all existing nuclear treaties, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It would also prevent the U.S. from reducing deployed or non-deployed nuclear launchers under the New START Treaty “while the armed forces of the Russian Federation remain prepositioned to strike Ukraine or are threatening the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Ukraine or another European or Eurasian state.”
The bill was cosponsored by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), John Thune (R-.S.D.), and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).
Bill Called ‘Counterproductive’
In a response to the legislation, Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl Kimball said blocking implementation of New START and other treaties was “counterproductive and would undermine U.S. and international security.” He added: “Clearly, the tensions over Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and meddling in other parts of Ukraine would be more difficult to manage without the limits, inspections, and transparency afforded by the existing nuclear risk reduction and confidence-building agreements now in force.” Kimball said, “Congress and the President would be wise not to make a bad situation worse by giving Russia an excuse to pull back from any of these agreements.”
ACA Senior Fellow Greg Thielmann said preserving the flow of data under New START is essential during times of high tensions. “The on-the-ground inspections of Russian strategic forces under New START provides some of the highest value information available to the intelligence community on the status of Russia’s nuclear forces and Moscow’s compliance with the terms of the treaty,” he said. “Why would we want to encourage non-compliance with any bilateral treaty (New START or Open Skies) with Russia and tempt disruption of this vital information flow?”
